Dawn at Kantale Reservoir.

Kantale reservoir was built by King Agbo-II in the 5th century. It can be reached along Kandy-Trincomalee Road (A6 highway) 45 kilometers from Habarana.

Kantale Reservoir spreads over 3,500 hectares, and holds water from River Mahaweli. It is surrounded by huge forest reserves, and also considered as an IBA (Important Bird Area).

At the dawn, scenery around Kantale reservoir is refreshing and full of vibrant colour. The clean, carpeted road runs over Kantale reservoir bund.

Fishing canoes are out for the morning's catch. Eagles circle over the water looking for prey. People, riding bicycles are out for work. A grand statue of King Agbo-II overlooks everything.

(Special thanks to my friend Janaka Jayanatha.)

Dimbulagala: Over 7000 years in the making.

The rocks of Dimbulagala: believed to be the weapons facility of Ravana.

Dhumraksha, an uncle of King Ravana was believed to have lived on these rocks. He overlooked the sophisticated weapons facility built here by Ravana, where the weapons he used for long wars against his enemies were developed and stored for safety. Because of Dhumraksha, this rock came to be called as Dhumraksha-Giri, which became Dumrakgala that eventually became Dimbulagala.

To the top of Dimbulagala...

Ravana fought with Rama in 4000 BC with weapons that shook the earth. The chronicle Rajavaliya says that 24 palaces of Ravana built along the coast sank in the sea after taking these shocks.

Time passed in thousands of years. Dimbulagala was covered by the jungle and became a hideout for the remaining Yakkhas of Lanka. When Prince Pandukabhaya was fighting against his uncles before 437 BC a Yakkha queen called Chetiya helped him. Chetiya was said to be the queen of the slain king of Lanka by Prince Vijaya. Chetiya lived in Dimbulagala, where Prince Pandukabhaya met her and requested help in his war against the uncles.

Hideout of the Yakkhas.

182 years after King Pandukabhaya, Emperor Asoka's Buddhist mission arrives Lanka. Thereafter, Dimbulagala became a Buddhist monastery. 11,000 Arhats were said to have lived in the forests of Dimbulagala those days.

A very long time after, that is in the 1950s, Ven. Kithalagama Seelalankara Nayaka Thero arrived in Dimbulagala looking for a sanctuary for his meditation practices. While staying in the forest sanctuary, he promoted a small settlement with twelve families.

Ven. Seelalankara Nayaka Thero developed this village to support the viability of Dimbulagala Buddhist Monastery. The recent history of Dimbulagala is entwined with the name of Kitalagama Seelalankara Nayaka Thero's life, until it was tragically ended by LTTE terrorists on 26th May 1995.

Janaka and I on the way to the top of Dimbulagala.

Reaching Dimbulagala is easier from Polonnaruwa. Take either a Mahiyangana or Nuwaragala bus from Central Bus Stand Kaduruwela. The bus travels along Maradankadawala-Habarana-Thirukkondaiadimadu Highway (A11) through the Flood Plains National Park. After passing about 4km from Manampitiya Bridge, the bus turns to Manampitiya-Aralaganwila-Maduru Oya Road (B502) and drives about 3km to Dalukkane. From Dalukkane it turns to Mahiyangane-Dimbulagala-Dalukkane Road. After a little more than 5km the bus arrives at Dimbulagala.



From Dimbulagala junction it is a 650 meter walk up to the monastery entrance.

Take enough water and some biscuits or chocolate to quench thirst and hunger while climbing the rock. It is a tedious task, and you must not try this if you are not feeling well. It is better to wear good, gripping shoes than slippers because when you climb halfway the concrete steps end, and from there have to continue on a rugged rock trail.

Thanks to my friend Janaka, I can give you these pictures. The hand rails are available at some places only. Most of the way have to be climbed by clinging on to roots and tree trunks.

Ahas Maligawa Temple built on top of Dimbulagala rock.

The view from top of the rock near Ahas Maligawa.

Season of Robarosiya.

Sidewalk at Katugastota.

Kandy has gone pink once again. The season of Robarosiya flower has arrived. The breeze slightly shakes Robarosiya branches and makes the pink flowers rain down.

Kandy Lake Round.

The number of flowers in a tree are immense, you can barely see its green leaves.

George E. De Silva Park, Kandy.

In front of Sri Dalada Maligawa.

The city of Kandy and its suburbs like Peradeniya and Katugastota are under siege by Robarosiya, the April Flower.

Thashayeni.

 

(By Vadivel Balendran)

The text you are about to read will be interesting, eye-opener and applicable to your life not because of its vocabulary, grammar or structure of sentences, but because the bondage between I and Mother Nature.

My motto being “Believe in Mother Nature she will never let you down”, Mother Nature has never let me down at any instance in my life. I am going to share many stories with you so that you will also understand what belief and believing in Mother Nature really means.

There is a small waterfall somewhere on the slopes of Mount Pithurathalagala (the highest mountain in Sri Lanka towering 8,281 feet) where I pray to my Nature God. My friend Suresh Dharmaratne and I uniquely named it as Divine Falls. (The exact location of the Divine Falls is undisclosed to save it from garbage-dumping weekend picnic freaks). Suresh is my batch mate at the Peradeniya Teachers’ College.  

Divine Falls.

Out of thousands of my stories that wrap around the Divine Falls, I am now sharing the story about my daughter who is a millennium baby born at the Nuwara-Eliya hospital.

I got married Vanitha (Vanithamalar Balendran nee Renganathan) on March 18, 1999 soon after returning from the Teachers’ Training College. As it happens to any woman, my wife also conceived a baby and was paying regular visits to the hospital for checkups. After few weeks of periodical visit to the hospital the doctors were able to predict the date of the new baby's arrival. That was happy news to me and was very proud of becoming a father for the first time in life. The predicted date was January 07, 2000. 
The medical checkups continued and my wife was given all the necessary instructions and medicine to ensure her health and the child's. At every visit to the hospital, my wife was informed about the progress and the good health condition of the child. So she returned home happily with a smiling face.

The days passed, and it was the 31st day of December 1999. As a practice I went to Divine Falls for two reasons: one is to pray for the prosperity of the coming year and the other is to bring a bottle of water (divine water) for the Pooja the next day 1st of January, 2000. I prayed Mother Nature and suggested the following, “Oh! Mother Nature the birth date of my child is predicted to be January 07th , but I would prefer it to be January 05th as it is my birthday as well and I would be the most happiest person if she is born on the 01st of January, because she will be a millennium baby.” Soon after that suggestion I filled the bottle that I took with water and setoff with thousands of dreams for the coming year. 

When I returned home it was about 09.00 a.m., leaving the bottle of water in the Shrine Room a engaged myself in the household chores as my wife was few days ahead for confinement. Around 02.00 p.m. one of her friends brought lunch for her, string hoppers and chicken curry and after their usual chit-chat my wife had the meal and continued with some usual ladies stuff while I was busy with my own work. Her friend left at about 04.00 p.m. and remembering that she has a husband come to me with a smiling face and wanted to know whether she could give me a helping hand. Having completed most of the work I thanked her in return with a sarcastic smile (as men always do) and wanted her to go to the room and rest for a while.

Always a whistle was hanging around my wife’s neck so that she could blow it to call me whenever she couldn’t shout out to call me. I was outside watching the children playing cricket outside my house and heard the blowing of the whistle and rushed to the room.

She told me that she was getting a slight pain and was little puzzled. By that time my mother was also there, as she also knows about this whistle business. As my mother and I were trying to something about the situation one of my friends U.A. Ranjith entered the main door of my house. I was glad to see him there at that time and understanding the situation he wanted to know what could he do to help me. I wanted him to find a vehicle to take my wife to the hospital and wanted my mother to get things ready. 

Since my wife had kept everything ready it was not at all a problem for me to find thing to be taken to the hospital. The vehicle arrived in about half an hour by then my mother had done everything possible to keep my wife calm by giving some indigenous (home made) medicine. 

It was about 6.30 p.m. in the evening when we arrived at the hospital and after going through all the procedures of the hospital my wife was admitted to the maternity ward at about 7.15 p.m. I returned home with my friend Ranjith and had a small ‘shot’ it was a happy and an exiting moment for me. My friend left my place around 10.00 pm. and it was I and my mother at home chatting for hours and hours and went to bed.  Sharp at 12.00 midnight I was awakened by the sound of the crackers although I was not fast asleep, from that moment onwards sleep didn't come to me.

Early next morning, January 01st of year 2000, I was the first visitor in that ward. Guess what? My wife has been taken into the labour room.I left the hospital leaving all the food, tea and other things by the side of her bed. I saw my mother-in-low and other relatives and friends at the hospital and I informed them about the state of affairs.

At last when it was time for the next visit I rushed to the ward. I was surprised! My child had been the seventh to be born on that day and already she had received several presents from the hospital and other organizations.

She is Thashayeni Balendran, a child who brought fame to her father.

Please tell me something so that I could share the other stories as well.